By Kunle Odufuwa
The sounds of the drums that daily woke him up, he could no longer hear while the drums themselves went silent all in reverence to their owner who had set on the glorious journey to meet his ancestors. Hmmm.. the ever bubbling Palace grounds quickly went into palpable silence with the mournful looks of people from far and wide in tribute to Oba Adeyemi. The powerful dresser whose uniquely style of majestic ro yet al outfits will remain points of reference for years to come. Sad, those calulative dance steps to the tunes of Aponran, bata and gbedu drums now lay still with the drums going into sudden silence all in trubute to the one that once danced calculatively to their sonorous and esoteric tunes for good 52 solid years. Alas! The one who death must not kill has fallen to the pangs of death. The one who must not have diseases has finally given up to diseases. Son of death is dead son of disease has succumbed to its bite. Hmmm…, so the great Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi Iku baba yeye has finally followed in the footsteps of those before him to the great beyond to the drum beats and deafening sounds of the different shapes of trumpets welcoming him into midst of his ancestors in the great beyond. Yes, no one is immuned against death because it remains the only one with the deadly punch.
Olayiwola, the reverred King, the mobile encyclopedia of Yoruba history and mythology , the great dancer and traditional poet has finally journeyed to meet his ancestors.
ALAAFIN OYO: From Oranmiyan to Lamidi Adeyemi.
Oyo will never forget him while he would remain an eternal reference point for students of yoruba folklore and history.
For 52 years he dictated affairs in Oyo and traversed the earth with majestic excellence and opulence.
But the powerful has at last succumbed to the dictates of the most powerful Almighty King of Kings. Oba akoda aiye, aseda orun.
The Alafin is not dead, according to yoruba tradition, he only transited
to join his ancestors. Iku baba yeye has finally succumbed to iku the one who has no respect for anyone except Olodumare, the one whose erand he must carry out.
Janazah,last prayer conducted on Alaafin’s corpse
Adieu Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, Alowolodu bi iyere. May your journey be smooth and seamless. To the great people of Oyo, mourn not, for the one you daily pay reverence to has only succumbed to the dictates of nature and to the words of the Psalmist who said ” As for man, his days are as grass, as flowers of the fields, so he flourishet, the wind passet over it and the place thereof shall know it no more”.
Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, Iku baba yeye waja, o di gbere, o di arinako o d’oju ala. Orun e ire.
